A. CONSERVATIVE OBSERVATION Most ureteral calculi pass and do not require intervention.

Spontaneous passage depends on stone size, shape, location, and associated ureteral edema (which is likely to depend on the length of time that a stone has not progressed). Ureteral calculi 45 mm in size have a 4050% chance of spontaneous…

In general, 50% of patients experience recurrent urinary stones within 5 years without prophylactic intervention.

Appropriate education and preventive measures are best instituted with a motivated patient after spontaneous stone passage or surgical stone removal. Risk factors as described previously should be identified and modified, if possible.

Prostatic calculi are found within the prostate gland per se and are found uncommonly within the prostatic urethra.

They are thought to represent calcified corpora amylacea and are rarely found in boys. Usually small and numerous, they are noted to be tannish gray in color during transurethral resection of the prostate. They are commonly…

Using novel technology allowing “virtual bone biopsies” researchers have found that a common treatment for prostate cancer called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is associated with structural decay of cortical and trabecular bone. The study has been accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

High radiation doses put a significant number of dialysis patients at increased risk of cancer, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results suggest that clinicians should consider scaling back on radiation for purposes of diagnosis in this patient population.